Audio Journal of Oncology Podcast

CHICAGO, USA—Outcomes were improved for patients with myelofibrosis in the phase 3 SENTRY trial who were randomized to have the new Janus kinase inhibitor selinexor added to their ruxolitinib initial therapy.Findings were reported at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.Peter Goodwin got the details from first author John Mascarenhas MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center of Excellence for Blood Cancers and Myeloid Disorders at the Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine, in Mount Sinai, New York, NY.

CHICAGO, USA—For patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer harboring the rare exon-20 gene insertion,first-line treatment with the targeted drug sunvozertinib monotherapy brought statistically significant anti-tumor efficacy when compared with chemotherapy in the phase three WU-KONG28 study reported to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology by John V Heymach MD PhD, Professor and Chair of Thoracic and Head and Neck Medical Oncology, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. After hearing Dr. Heymach’s talk, Audio Journal of Oncology reporter Peter Goodwin caught up with ASCO commentator David R Spigel MD, President and Chief Medical Officer at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. (An interview with David R Spigel MD, President & Chief Medical Officer, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, Tennessee, US)

The idea that all women with hormone dependent early breast cancers that test negative for the HER2 molecule and have high risk clinical factors should be receive chemotherapy in addition to endocrine therapy is now being strongly questioned. A new study using a gene expression test to predict recurrence risk has shown that most patients do not benefit from adding chemotherapy to their ongoing endocrine treatment. Results from the OPTIMA phase III randomized non-inferiority trial reported at the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggest that the current standard of care recommending chemotherapy for high-risk groups needs to be changed. Peter Goodwin got the details of the study findings from first author, Robert C. Stein, PhD FRCP, Professor of Breast Oncology at University College, in London.

Patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer did not live longer with thoracic radiotherapy added to their chemo-immunotherapy in a study reported to the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2026 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, USA. First author Bjørn Henning Grønberg MD PhD, Professor and Consultant in Oncology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim, Norway talked with the Audio Journal of Oncology about his group’s findings.

CHICAGO, USA—Combining the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan with pembrolizumab immunotherapy for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancers testing positive for the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) led to significant delays of disease progression after subsequent therapy in comparison with standard of care using a combination of chemotherapy with pembrolizumab. That’s according to first author of research reported at the 2026 American Association of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting Kevin Kalinsky MD, Division Director of Breast Medical Oncology from Emory University at the Winship Cancer Institute, Hematology and Medical Oncology, in Atlanta, USA. He told reporter Peter Goodwin more about the details.

An interview with: Wing-Lok Chan MBBS, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China CHICAGO, USA—Patients with advanced cancer had their quality of life preserved and required fewer hospitalizations when they monitored themselves digitally by using the SUPPORT+ mobile phone app prompting better self-management while giving regular access to guidance from a nurse. This was in a randomized controlled study reported to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology by Wing-Lok Chan MBBS, from the Department of Clinical Oncology at the University of Hong Kong, in China. She talked about the findings with Peter Goodwin:

CHICAGO, USA—Patients with unresectable liver cancers who were eligible for treatment with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), were randomly offered, treatment with the anti-CTL-4 checkpoint inhibitor tremelimumab together with the anti PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab with or without a third drug: the multiple VEGFR 1, 2 & 3 kinase inhibitor, lenvatinib, in the phase threeEMERALD-3 study. Findings of a significant improvement of progression free survival were reported at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by first author Ghassan Abou-Alfa MD PhD from the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York and Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, NY. After his talk in Chicago Dr. Abou-Alfa gave Peter Goodwin the details:

Patients with RET Fusion Positive Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Benefit from Selpercatinib: LIBRETTO-432 Early Results An interview with: Jonathan W. Goldman MD, Director of Clinical Trials i

Abemaciclib Brings Marked Increase in Progression Free Survival for Patients with Advanced Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma An interview with: Mark A Dickson MD, Medical Oncologist, Associate Attending Ph

Omitting Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: Safe for Patients with Breast Cancer Spread to One or Two Sentinel Lymph Nodes An interview with: Jana de Boniface MD PhD Department of Surgery, Capio St. Göra

Timing of Surgery for Advanced Ovarian Cancer among Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Chemotherapy Cycles: Early Findings from Randomized CHRONO Trial An interview with: Jean-Marc Classe, MD PhD, Surgeon in Gy

Giredestrant Beats Standard Endocrine Therapies Irrespective of Menopausal Status in Patients with ER+, HER2- Early Breast Cancer An interview with: Peter Schmid MD PhD, Professor of Cancer Medicine;

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Induced Myocarditis within One Month Predicts Lethal “Triple M Overlap Syndrome” An interview with: Hassan Mohammed Abushukair MD, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Oklahoma Univer

RAS G12 Targeting Drug Daraxonrasib Doubles Survival with Pancreas Cancer in Phase 3 RASolute 302 Study An interview with: Eileen M O’Reilly MD, Medical Oncologist, Professor of Medicine, Winthrop Rockefeller Chair in Medical Oncology and Leader of the Clinical and Translational Research Program in Pancreas Cancer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA CHICAGO, USA—A standing ovation was given at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting Plenary Session in response to news reported in a late-breaking abstract (by Brian M. Wolpin MD, MPH from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Boston) of a doubling of median progression-free and overall survival among patients with pancreas cancers randomized to treatment with the multi-selective RAS inhibitor drug daraxonrasib compared with standard of care chemotherapy. The Audio Journal of Oncology heard the details from lead-author of the accompanying article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Eileen M O’Reilly MD, Medical Oncologist, Professor of Medicine, Winthrop Rockefeller Chair in Medical Oncology and Leader of the Clinical and Translational Research Program in Pancreas Cancer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. AUDIO JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY: Eileen M  O’Reilly MD IN:  [GOODWIN]”I am here at …. OUT:  ………..of Oncology, I’m Peter Goodwin  13:29secs ASCO 2026 Abstract LBA5 Daraxonrasib, a RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor vs chemotherapy in previously treated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC): Primary and final analysis from the phase 3 RASolute 302 study. ASCO Presenting author: Brian M Wolpin MD MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Boston, USA Background: Available 2L therapies offer limited clinical benefit in mPDAC with reported mPFS of 3–4 mo and mOS of 6–7 mo. Aberrant RAS pathway activation is the key driver of PDAC, with oncogenic RAS mutations (mut) identified in >90% of cases, most commonly at codon G12. Daraxonrasib is an oral, RAS(ON) multi-selective, tri-complex inhibitor of the active, GTP-bound state of mutant and wild type RAS. Methods: RASolute 302 (NCT06625320) is a global, randomized, open-label, Ph 3 study in pts with 2L mPDAC and ECOG PS 0-1. Pts were randomized 1:1 to receive daraxonrasib 300 mg PO QD or investigator’s choice of SOC cytotoxic chemo. Dual primary endpoints were OS and PFS by BICR in the RAS G12 mutant (RAS G12) population. Key secondary endpoints included OS and PFS by BICR in the overall population, ORR by BICR in RAS G12 and overall populations. Results: 248 pts were randomized to daraxonrasib and 252 to chemo. Baseline characteristics were balanced between arms. At data cutoff (Feb 10, 2026; mFU: 8.5 mo), all primary and key secondary endpoints were met. Statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvements in OS and PFS were observed with daraxonrasib vs chemo in the RAS G12 and overall populations (Table). Gr ≥3 TRAEs occurred in 43.6% of pts receiving daraxonrasib vs 57.5% receiving chemo. The most common (≥10%) Gr ≥3 TRAEs were rash (13.7%) and stomatitis (12.0%) for daraxonrasib; neutrophil decrease (18.2%) and anemia (16.4%) for chemo. TRSAEs occurred in 10.8% of pts receiving daraxonrasib vs 18.7% receiving chemo. Discontinuation due to TRAEs occurred in 1.2% of pts for daraxonrasib vs 11.2% for chemo. Median/mean daraxonrasib dose intensity was 93.1%/84.7%. Conclusions: Daraxonrasib demonstrated unprecedented improvements in OS and PFS vs chemo in pts with 2L mPDAC with or without an identified tumor RAS mut. Daraxonrasib was generally well tolerated, with a manageable safety profile and with no new safety signals. Results support daraxonrasib as the new SOC for 2L mPDAC. Daraxonrasib was generally well tolerated, with a manageable safety profile and with no new safety signals. Results support daraxonrasib as the new SOC for 2L mPDAC. RAS G12 Overallb Daraxonrasib n=228 Chemo n=231 Daraxonrasib n=248 Chemo n=252   OS Median; mos (95% CI) 13.2 (10.0–NE) 6.6 (5.4–8.2) 13.2 (10.0–NE) 6.7 (5.8–8.0) HR (95% CI) P-value 0.40 (0.30-0.54)

Standing ovation at ASCO for RASolute 302 Study

BCMA-directed CAR T-cell Therapy Highly Effective In Patients with High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma An interview with: Omar Nadeem MD, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Investigator, Dana-Farber Ca

Molecular Glue Brings New Hope for Patients with BRAF or NRAS-Mutant Melanoma or Other RAS/RAF-driven Malignancies An interview with: Ahmad A Tahini MD PhD, Senior Member, Professor, Director, Departm

Wildfires risk more cancer?

AI “Pathomics Platform” Selects Immunotherapy, Predicts Outcome for Patients with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer  An interview with: Rukhmini Bandyopadhyay MD, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Universi

Investigational KRAS(ON) Inhibitor Zoldonrasib Showed Effective and Durable Responses in Patients With Advanced G12D-mutated Lung Cancer An interview with: Jonathan Wesley Riess MD, Professor of Medic

Whole Exome Sequencing of ctDNA Informs Post-Neoadjuvant Therapy Options for Patients with Triple Negative Early Breast Cancer An interview with: Marija Balic MD PhD, Chief of Medical Breast Oncology,

Refractory Ovarian Cancer Yields to Claudin 6 Targeted Antibody Drug Conjugate

oral pre-cancer lesions injected with nivolumab prevented progression with little morbidity

New Generation KRAS G12C Inhibitor Brings Promising Responses Even in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancers Refractory to Previous KRAS-targeted Therapy An interview with Byoung Chul Cho MD PhD, Thoraci

“Molecular Glue Degrader Improves Outcomes in Heavily Pre-treated Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors” An interview with: Elena Garralda MD PhD, Medical Oncologist, Head, Early Drug Development Unit,

Safe to Avoid Endocrine Therapy in Older Women with Low Risk Breast Cancers: EUROPA Study Interim Findings An interview with: Icro Meattini MD, Associate Professor of Radiotherapy, University of Flore

Axillary Radiotherapy Seems As Effective as Axillary Lymphadenectomy in Sentinel Node Positive Early Breast Cancer, with Less Risk of Lymphedema An interview with: Amparo Garcia-Tejedor MD, PhD, Profe

Radiation Boost May No Longer Be Justified After Standard Therapy for Early Breast Cancer An interview with: Eline Verreck BSc, Erasmus University Medical Centre, Surgical Oncology Department, Rotterd

Fleur Mauritz MD discusses the 10-year follow-up findings from the RAPCHEM study, presented at the EBCC 2026. The research indicates that risk-based radiotherapy de-escalation is safe and effective following primary systemic therapy for early breast cancer patients. This approach allows for tailored treatment, potentially reducing side effects without compromising low recurrence rates. The study provides crucial long-term evidence supporting individualized radiotherapy strategies.

At the 2026 EBCC, Jelle Wesseling MD PhD discusses the LORD-trial, which found active surveillance for low-risk, estrogen-receptor-positive, HER2-negative, grade 1–2 DCIS is as effective as standard therapy. The trial's reassuring findings led to early cessation of randomization, supporting de-escal

Elisa Agostinetto MD presented at EBCC 2026, highlighting circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a superior prognostic marker over clinical indicators for predicting relapse and progression in early breast cancer patients after neoadjuvant therapy. This research supports ctDNA for post-neoadjuvant risk st

Kerstin Wimmer MD, at the 2026 EBCC, discussed the OPBC-09 PRExRT study findings, revealing that polyurethane-coated breast implants significantly reduce capsular contracture risk for breast cancer patients receiving mastectomy with immediate pre-pectoral reconstruction followed by radiotherapy. Thi

At EBCC 2026, Fatima Cardoso MD discussed the OASIS-4 trial, revealing elinzanetant greatly reduced vasomotor symptoms ("hot flashes") in breast cancer patients receiving endocrine therapy. This dual neurokinin receptor antagonist demonstrated rapid and sustained efficacy across various ET types, of

Elisabetta Bonzano MD PhD discusses the BRAVE-HEART study at the 2025 EBCC, revealing how the Active Breathing Co-ordination (ABC) system significantly halves the coronary radiation dose during left breast irradiation. This crucial finding confirms ABC's high feasibility and clinical impact in reduc

This episode features Philip Poortmans MD PhD, University of Antwerp & Iridium Netwerk, discussing key themes from the 2026 European Breast Cancer Conference. He focuses on individualizing breast cancer therapy through de-escalation, covering the EUROPA trial, radiation boost data, axillary radiothe

Tess Snellen MD, from the Netherlands Cancer Institute, presents key findings at the EBCC 2026 regarding a molecular test. This innovative test utilizes next-generation sequencing to precisely differentiate between a recurrent ipsilateral breast cancer and a new primary tumor, significantly aiding i

Charles E Geyer MD, at ESMO 2025, discusses DESTINY-Breast05 results, revealing trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) significantly improves disease-free survival for HER2-positive early breast cancer patients with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy. T-DXd outperformed trastuzumab emtansin

Hope S. Rugo, MD, discusses the Phase III evERA Breast Cancer trial at SABCS 2025, revealing clinically meaningful improvements with giredestrant plus everolimus for ER-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer previously treated with a CDK4/6 inhibitor. Subgroup analyses show benefits regard

Othman Al-Sawaf MD PhD, a hematologist from University Hospital of Cologne, presents early data from the CLL17 international phase three trial at ASH 2025. The findings indicate that fixed-duration treatment with venetoclax plus obinutuzumab or venetoclax plus ibrutinib is non-inferior to continuous ibrutinib for patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia, potentially becoming the preferred treatment.

Dr. Juan Du presented early phase one study findings at ASH 2025, detailing a novel dual-targeted FasTCAR-T therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The study demonstrated deep, durable responses in patients using the BCMA and CD19-targeting CAR T-cell platform, GC012F/AZD0120. These promising results, consistent across all dose groups, highlight a highly favorable safety profile and potential for patients, including those with high-risk features and transplant-ineligible individuals.

Thorsten Kühn MD PhD discusses findings from the AXSANA/EUBREAST 3(R) study at SABCS 2025. The research indicates that breast cancer patients who convert from clinically node-positive to node-negative after neoadjuvant chemotherapy do not require axillary lymph node dissection. Less invasive surgical staging procedures were found to be non-inferior in terms of three-year outcomes, irrespective of tumor type or initial stage.

This podcast episode, recorded at ASH 2025, features an interview with María-Victoria Mateos MD PhD, who discusses groundbreaking findings from the Majestec-3 study. The study highlights unprecedented survival benefits with the BCMA/CD3 bispecific antibody teclistamab. In patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, adding teclistamab to standard second-line therapies significantly improved progression-free and overall survival.

This episode features an interview with Erika Hamilton MD at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Dr. Hamilton discusses findings from the HER2CLIMB-05 trial, showing that adding tucatinib to trastuzumab and pertuzumab significantly improves progression-free survival in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer as first-line maintenance therapy, with no new safety signals. This small molecule HER2 inhibitor offers a promising new option.

Wojciech Jurczak MD PhD discusses research from ASH 2025, revealing that the non-covalent BTK inhibitor pirtobrutinib is superior to bendamustine plus rituximab as initial therapy for untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma. The BRUIN CLL-313 phase 3 study found pirtobrutinib significantly improved progression-free survival and was well-tolerated. These data suggest pirtobrutinib could become a new standard of care for these patients.

At SABCS 2025, Gaorav Gupta MD PhD presented findings from the TBCRC-053 (P-RAD) study. The research showed that pre-operative radiation therapy significantly increased T-cell infiltration in hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative invasive breast cancer. This novel approach could enhance anti-tumor immunity and boost responses to systemic therapies like immunotherapy and chemotherapy in this common breast cancer subtype.

This episode discusses how the bispecific antibody Epcoritamab, in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide, has outperformed standard treatment for relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma in the phase three epcore FL-1 trial. Dr. Lorenzo Falchi, an attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering, was interviewed at the ASH 2025 Annual Meeting, where these significant findings, including improved ORR and PFS, were presented, demonstrating a substantial reduction in the risk of progression or

Dr. Christian F. Singer discusses findings from the ABCSG 18 Study at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. The research indicates that post-menopausal women with ER-positive early breast cancer treated with denosumab and aromatase inhibitors show enhanced bone protection and improved long-term outcomes if their tumors are also positive for the progesterone receptor. This suggests PR-positive tumors drive the benefit of adjuvant denosumab.

An interview with Amir Fathi MD from Massachusetts General Hospital discusses the Paradigm study presented at ASH 2025. The phase two randomized trial found that young, fit adults with acute myeloid leukemia had improved event-free survival and higher response rates with azacitidine/venetoclax initial therapy. This gentler treatment also led to fewer toxicities and better quality of life compared to standard induction chemotherapy.

Dr. Jennifer A. Woyach discusses promising phase III study findings at ASH 2025, revealing that the non-covalent BTK inhibitor pirtobrutinib is as effective as ibrutinib, while demonstrating less toxicity, in patients with relapsed/refractory and treatment-naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. This first randomized head-to-head comparison shows pirtobrutinib met its primary endpoint of non-inferiority for overall response rate.

Alexis Ann LeVee MD presented novel research at the 2025 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Her team's study, the randomized phase II neoHIP trial, revealed that pre-operative gut microbiome composition predicts pathologic complete response to immune checkpoint inhibition in patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer. This highlights the microbiome's crucial role in influencing treatment outcomes for HER2-positive breast cancer.